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    Chord Substitution

    Uploaded by

    Jeffry Lim
    The document describes several chord substitution techniques that can be used in various musical styles including pop, jazz, and blues. It provides examples of substituting major chords for major 2 chords, minor 7th chords for minor 11th chords, and dominant 7th chords for minor 7th chords built on the third. Additional substitutions covered include using major 7th chords on the third for minor 7th chords in jazz, substituting diminished chords a half step up for dominant 7th chords with a flat 9, and replacing major 7th chords with minor 7th chords on the third or sixth scale degree.

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    Chord Substitution

    Uploaded by

    Jeffry Lim
    538 views4 pages
    The document describes several chord substitution techniques that can be used in various musical styles including pop, jazz, and blues. It provides examples of substituting major chords for major 2 chords, minor 7th chords for minor 11th chords, and dominant 7th chords for minor 7th chords built on the third. Additional substitutions covered include using major 7th chords on the third for minor 7th chords in jazz, substituting diminished chords a half step up for dominant 7th chords with a flat 9, and replacing major 7th chords with minor 7th chords on the third or sixth scale degree.

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    Chord substitution

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    The document describes several chord substitution techniques that can be used in various musical styles including pop, jazz, and blues. It provides examples of substituting major chords for major 2 chords, minor 7th chords for minor 11th chords, and dominant 7th chords for minor 7th chords built on the third. Additional substitutions covered include using major 7th chords on the third for minor 7th chords in jazz, substituting diminished chords a half step up for dominant 7th chords with a flat 9, and replacing major 7th chords with minor 7th chords on the third or sixth scale degree.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    538 views4 pages

    Chord Substitution

    Uploaded by

    Jeffry Lim
    The document describes several chord substitution techniques that can be used in various musical styles including pop, jazz, and blues. It provides examples of substituting major chords for major 2 chords, minor 7th chords for minor 11th chords, and dominant 7th chords for minor 7th chords built on the third. Additional substitutions covered include using major 7th chords on the third for minor 7th chords in jazz, substituting diminished chords a half step up for dominant 7th chords with a flat 9, and replacing major 7th chords with minor 7th chords on the third or sixth scale degree.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    of 4

    The following chord substitutions work in a variety of musical situations and

    will not clash with what the other musicians are playing.

    Major to Major 2: For any major chord, substitute a major 2 chord to get a contemporary Pop
    sound.This chord substitution for major chords works great for creating pop or contemporary
    sounding progressions, and it works in practically every musical context that a major chord would be
    used.

    Minor 7th to Minor 11th: For any minor 7th chord, substitute a minor 11th chord to get a
    contemporary Pop sound. This chord substitution for minor chords gives minor chords an added
    depth and richness. It works in almost every musical context where a minor chord is used, so let your
    ear be your guide for the occasional time it might not work.

    Cm7 to Ebmaj7: For any minor 7th chord, substitute a major 7th built on the 3rd in a jazz setting.

    This chord substitution for minor chords is very useful in a jazz setting when soloing or playing
    rhythm. Using the major 7th substitution in a minor context gives the minor chord the sound of a
    much more complex minor 9th chord.

    As before, let your ear be your guide as to when it works best. This chord substitution is particularly
    helpful when soloing because it immediately gives you many moreoptions to play over a particular
    chord progression. For example, over a Cm7 chord, you could play an Ebmaj7 arpeggio or chord.
    Dominant 7th to Min7(b5): For any dominant 7th chord, substitute a min7(b5) chord built on the
    3rd in a jazz setting.

    This chord substitution for dominant 7th chords is very useful in a jazz setting when soloing or
    playing rhythm because both chords share many common tones. For example, over a C7 chord I can
    play or solo using an Em7(b5) chord.

    C7(b9) to C#dim: For any 7(b9) chord, substitute a diminished chord built one half-step up. In Jazz,
    a dominant 7th chord can be embellished a number of ways. One of the most common is to change
    the chord to a 7(b9) chord. For example, in the key of F, the C7 chord is routinely changed to a
    C7(b9) chord. So, 7(b9) chords are quite common in Jazz.

    This chord substitution works on 7(b9) chords. A diminished chord built one half step can be used in
    place of any 7(b9) chord. For example, if the music says C7(b9), you can substitute a C#dim, and it is
    going to sound great. This works because both of these chords share many common tones.
    Major 7 chord substitutions

    A Major 7 chord can be replaced by the IIIm7 and the VIm7 chords. In the case of a C Major 7th
    chord, these chords would be the Em7 and Am7. The reason this works is that these chord share
    three common tones, and when used appropriately keep the C Major 7 tonality. Compare the notes
    that make up these three chords:

    C Major 7 C E G B

    E minor 7 E G B D

    A minor 7 A C E G

    The tritone substitution

    The tritone substitution is very common in Jazz, and it is the substitution of a Dominant 7 chord with
    the Dominant 7 chord three whole tones above the root. Three whole tones is the same as the b5.
    For example, a G7 chord can be substituted with the Db7 chord. (Db7 is the flat 5th of G). Here is an
    example of the use the tritone substitution to create a descending chromatic movement:

    Minor 7 substitution

    Any minor 7 chord can be substituted with its relative Major chord (3rd note in the minor scale). For
    example, a Dm7 can be replaced by an F Major 7. Compare the notes of these chords to see why this
    works:

    D minor 7 D F A C

    F Major 7 F A C E
    Chord substitutions for a I-IV-V blues progression

    • ii-V sub: Substitute ii for IV, so that you have a ii-V turnaround. For example, if you're playing in
    the key of C, the V chord is G7 and the ii chord is Dm7. So instead of C-F-G7, play C-Dm7-G7.
    This is far and away the easiest and most common substitution, and in fact it's the standard
    turnaround in jazz.

    • Secondary Dominants: Use secondary dominants, i.e. V chords of V chords. Again, if you're
    playing in the key of C, the V chord is G7 and the V of G is D7, so instead of playing C-F-G7, play
    C-D7-G7 instead. You can extend this as much as you want, i.e. use V chords of V chords of V
    chords, etc. Entire songs have been written around this idea ("Salty Dog" comes to mind).

    • Tritone Subs: In general, you can make what's called a "tritone substitution" on any dominant
    chord (i.e. any 7th chord). It works like this: if the root of the V chord is X, replace the chord
    with a 7th chord whose root is a tritone away from X. So in the key of C, again the V chord is a
    G7. The note that's a tritone away from G is D♭, so replace the G7 with a D♭7. Combined with
    the ii-for-IV substitution, the turnaround goes from C-F-G to C-Dm7-D♭7, which has some
    really nice voice-leading in the bass notes. Combine tritone subs with secondary dominants and
    you can have a field day with different patterns and substitutions.

    • Diminished Subs: Every diminished chord is a 7th chord with a flatted 9 in four different ways.
    For example, the diminished chord with the notes D♭-E-G-B♭ is, simultaneously, a C7-9, an
    E♭7-9, an F♯7-9, and an A7-9. This offers a dizzying array of substitutional opportunities,
    and it also means that diminished scales and arpeggios sound great over 7th chords.

    • Median Subs: Another general substitution is called a "median substitution". For this, you
    replace a chord whose root note is X with a chord whose root note is a third above or a third
    below X. You want to stay within the diatonic harmony of the key you're playing in, so the new
    chord may not be the same type of chord as the original. For example, if you're playing in the
    key of C, you can replace the I chord (C Major) with a iii chord (Em7) or a vi chord (Am7),
    because iii is a third above I and vi is a third below I. In fact, the ii-for-IV substitution I
    mentioned first is just a median sub (ii being a third below IV).

    Original Chord Substitute Chords Original Chord Substitute Chords


    I VIm; IIIm C Am; Em
    IV IIm; VIm F Dm; Am
    V7 VIIo; IIIm; bII7 G7 Bo; Em; Db7

    Some of these substitutions sound better in a jazz context than a pure blues context, but either way
    they'll spice up your playing. Also, the same principles apply to your soloing: for example, if you're
    soloing over a G7, feel free to play a D♭ pentatonic or mixolydian scale, which will still sound good
    but adds a bit of unexpected colour.

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